by Linda Ford
Behind him he heard words like dirty Indian. But one woman, who stood to his right, mumbled, “Poor thing.”
The nurse jerked her head back and seemed to get six inches taller. “Indians are not welcome here.” She shooed at them.
“I will see the doctor,” Kody insisted.
“Ain’t that why he’s here?” the woman to his right demanded.
Several others added their vocal support. The nurse sat down. “Very well. You can stay, but I can’t promise the doctor will see you.” She sniffed.
The doctor not only saw her, he said, “This is a fairly simple thing. I think it can be fixed.”
Star give him one of her intense looks. “You can make me so I can walk right?”
The doctor leaned over until eye level with Star. “I think so.”
“It hurt?”
“You’ll have to wear a cast for a while. You’ll be stiff and sore as you learn to walk again, but it won’t be much for a brave girl like you. Not for someone who has walked on this crooked foot for four years.”
“Not like bad boots?” she demanded.
Kody explained about the special shoes. The doctor assured Star it wouldn’t be like that at all.
Star nodded soberly. “I want to walk right.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Kody signed papers and discussed payment. His Canada fund, no longer needed for that purpose, would do.
Then he and Charlotte took Star to meet her grandpa and grandma.
Ma and Pa were thrilled to know they had a granddaughter. Kody understood he’d robbed them of four precious years, but they would never point it out. They would take what they had now and enjoy it. As Pa said, enjoying what the present offered.
Star hung back shyly for about two minutes, then started in on a long story about her doll. Ma and Pa couldn’t keep their eyes off her.
“Can I leave her with you while Charlotte and I go for a walk?” Kody asked.
No one protested.
Charlotte let him take her hand as they walked down the street. He didn’t speak and she waited, knowing this walk had a purpose. She’d seen a difference in Kody from the moment he rode back to town. His eyes were clearer, his face had lost those hard lines. She rejoiced that Star would get her foot straightened and Kody was prepared to be Star’s father, but she hoped his return had another purpose. One including her.
He led her past the church and through the little gate into the cemetery. They passed several monuments. Kody stopped before a small marker under a big elm tree. He pulled her close to his side. “My mother’s grave.”
She read the inscription: Mother of Dakoka Charles Douglas. A long, bony finger of shock scratched up her spine. She’d known Kody didn’t know his mother’s name, but to look at cold, hard proof made it real in a way she hadn’t accepted until now.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?”
So many things. The fact he didn’t know his mother’s name or who his father was. That it seemed to matter so much to him.
“I thought I’d learn to live with it, but instead, I’ve been running from it, as you pointed out.”
“I had no right.” She’d never intended to hurt him.
“I’m glad you did. I thought I could pretend it didn’t matter if I kept running from who I am. But I don’t want to run anymore. I want to stay right here and raise Star.” He turned and put his arms around her—his strong, loving arms.
She looked up, letting everything she felt fill her smile.
He drank it in as he studied her eyes, ran his gaze down her cheek, settled on her mouth. She waited for him to confess his love and kiss her.
Instead, he eased back fractionally. It felt like he’d moved ten feet. Cold lumped in the bottom of her stomach. He’d said nothing about including her in his change of plans.
He glanced toward the grave marker. “You see my past—uncertain in so many ways. I can’t promise people won’t judge you poorly because of me. But I love you, and if you’ll have me I can promise to love you as long as I live.”
Her insides sang with joy. “Kody Douglas, I love you. I can’t change my past. I can’t guarantee anything about the future except my undying love. But today is ours. Let’s take God’s good gifts and enjoy them.”
“I would like to share today and whatever the future holds with you and Star and any children—”
She laughed. “One step at a time.”
“One day at a time.” He kissed her then. Gently, sweetly, a kiss full of love and promise and joy.
Epilogue
Four months later
The October day was perfect. Shimmering yellow leaves danced on the poplar trees. The air glowed in the golden light peculiar to autumn.
Charlotte breathed in deeply, inhaling the rich scent of the season. She wanted to hold the smells, devour the sights, cherish each feeling so she would never forget one detail of this, her wedding day.
She’d chosen a pale pink taffeta for the simple tailored dress Martha helped her make. It would serve her for special occasions for years to come. Her bouquet was a generous spray of tiny sunflowers from Nurse Chester’s garden.
“Is it time?” Star demanded, pulling Charlotte’s attention back to the small room where they waited for the ceremony to begin.
“Any minute now.” Her words were soft, confident. Over the past few months she and Kody had grown in their love for and understanding of each other. She’d thrilled to see how he started to walk down the sidewalks with the confidence of a man who belonged. His growing faith challenged her own spiritual growth. How she enjoyed praying together with him, sharing her doubts, her triumphs and the ordinary events of her day. She loved having him share his life with her.
She felt the smile fill her eyes with joy, felt it wrap around her heart with assurance at the depth of her love for Kody, of his for her.
“Do I look pretty?” Star’s voice reminded Charlotte of the presence of others.
Star wore a rose-pink dress. Her cast had come off two weeks ago. She could barely contain her pleasure and pride at being able to walk with a barely noticeable limp. Charlotte leaned over and hugged her. “You are beautiful. I hope your daddy can stop staring at you long enough to notice me.”
Star giggled, then turned serious. “Now you’ll be my momma?”
“Indeed I will and I’m so happy about it.” She hugged the child. Star whispered, “Momma,” in her ear. Charlotte wondered if her heart could hold any more joy.
She turned to Emma, her bridesmaid. “You’ll be stealing hearts left and right yourself.” Emma had joined the hospital staff during the summer, and she and Charlotte had soon become fast friends. Emma, practical to the core, seldom bothered to dress up. She wore a uniform for work and simple cotton dresses for church. She usually kept her thick blond hair in a tight bun, as suited a nurse, she insisted when Charlotte tried to talk her into letting it hang loose. But Emma had allowed Charlotte to have her way for the wedding and her hair hung in shimmering waves halfway down her back.
The pianist played the processional and Star headed down the aisle.
Emma grinned at Charlotte. “You are positively glowing. I hope you don’t ignite before you get properly hitched.” She kissed Charlotte on the cheek and hugged her, then followed Star. She’d refused to do the prissy half-step considered appropriate for weddings.
Charlotte smiled as her friend swung down the aisle with the boldness and assurance of the strong woman she was. Charlotte took a deep breath to still her demanding heart, which urged her to run to Kody’s arms. She stepped to the doorway. Harry had been unable to come, saying Nellie needed him in the last stages of confinement, so Charlotte had asked Jed to accompany her down the aisle. She and Kody had become good friends with Jed and Bess. Clinging to Jed’s arm, she stepped into the sanctuary. The church was full. John and Morning sat by Kody’s parents. She didn’t take time to identify any of the others but shifted her gaze to the front.
/> Her lungs refused to work when she saw Kody standing at the front, resplendent in a black suit his father had persuaded him to wear. He’d recently cut his hair and he looked very debonair. He could pass for a successful businessman. In the last few months he had continued to work for Widow Murphy. Star had divided her time between the Eaglefeathers and her new grandma and grandpa. In a few days, she would join Kody and Charlotte at the Murphy ranch.
“It suits me,” Kody often said of the ranch. “Wild and free. Besides, what would Mrs. Murphy do without me?”
He smiled from the front of the church, and Charlotte’s lungs remembered to work. She held his gaze as she made her way up the aisle. She heard the whispers and aahs as she passed those in attendance, but she had eyes for no one but Kody.
She reached his side, took his hand and let her breath ease out.
As in a dream, she repeated her vows. Not until Leland told Kody he could kiss his bride and Kody’s lips met hers in a vow of eternal love, did she feel like the dream ended. Or had it just begun?
Martha, with the help of the church ladies, had prepared a tea for afterward. Kody seemed perfectly at home with everyone. She could hardly believe how distant he’d kept himself not so long ago.
And then the tea things were cleared away and gifts piled in front of them. Together they opened them—towels, fancy dishes, sheets and other essentials.
Later, dusk settled like a pale gray cloak as they climbed into the black truck Kody had purchased, insisting they needed better transportation than horses to take them back and forth to the Murphy ranch.
Someone had left a light burning in the living room of the ranch house, and it beamed a golden welcome as they drove into the yard.
Kody leaned over and kissed Charlotte thoroughly before he jumped from the truck and hurried around to help her out. She looked around, expecting to be led to the small house Mrs. Murphy provided her hired man, but Kody led her up the path toward the big house.
“What…?” Then she realized Mrs. Murphy must have given them access to the house for their wedding night.
Kody allowed her to walk as far as the door, then swept her off her feet and carried her over the threshold. He kissed her again without putting her down. He crossed to the middle of the great room rising open to the second story.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Douglas,” Kody whispered as he set her on her feet. “I have a wedding present for you.” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a sheaf of official-looking papers, which he unfolded and handed to her.
She read them, tried to make sense of them. “This looks like some kind of business deal.”
“Mrs. Murphy offered to sell me the ranch. I can pay it off month by month.”
She gaped at him. “She did?”
“Yeah. I guess she likes me.”
Chuckling, she kissed him, then tore herself away and turned full circle. “This is to be our home?”
“Think you’ll like it?”
She laughed. “It’s beautiful. I can hardly wait to see the view through those long windows in daylight.”
He pulled her into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “God is so good.”
“That He is.” His gentle kiss promised more than enough joy for every day.
Dear Reader,
I like writing about wounded heroes and heroines, but not because I suffered any great hurt in my childhood. I had a lovely, rich childhood and knew God’s love from an early age. In adult life, however, I have lived and worked with emotionally damaged people. Not always do they accept the help offered by others and by God. Although I know there are no simplistic answers, I like to imagine how things would be different if injured people could forgive the past and accept God’s loving plans for their present and future.
I hope you find encouragement in reading how my characters faced their emotional injuries.
I love to hear from readers. Contact me by e-mail at [email protected]. Feel free to check on updates and bits about my research on my Web site: www.lindaford.org.
God Bless,
Linda Ford
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Where was Kody headed? What did he hope to find there? Was he running to freedom and opportunity or away from something in his past? Did he recognize this?
Why was Charlotte alone in the house? Why hadn’t she sought help? Are there things in your life that keep you from making a move when you know you need to?
What did these two have in common emotionally? Did they understand that? Do you see how others share similar hurts as you? How do you respond to them?
Why did Kody think he had to hide his relationship with Star? If you had a chance to talk to him, what suggestions would you like to give him?
I see people like Kody and Star on the sidewalks at home—people who feel judged because of who they are or what their choices have been in their lives. I often struggle to feel sympathy for their plight. Do you feel the same? Does this story help you care a little more about those people we often ignore? If so, what do you think you should do about it? Is God leading you to do something?
Kody had loving adoptive parents. Why wasn’t it enough for him? What more did he need to be all he could be? Did Charlotte help?
Kody faced real prejudice. How did this make Charlotte feel? Who do you identify with most—people like Matron, Charlotte or Kody?
There are also people who didn’t show prejudice. Why do you think they acted differently even though the feelings of their day supported prejudice? Is there some way God wants you to make a difference today?
How did the Dirty 30s affect these characters, or did it? Do we face unique challenges because of the era in which we live? Consider indifference, overload of information, materialism, etc. Are there times we should choose to act contrary to our society’s norms?
What events caused Kody and Charlotte to change? Was it a big event or a series of small events? Are you open and paying attention to the small lessons God brings to your life? How do you respond?
What further challenges do you think Kody and Charlotte will face? If you could speak to them, what would you want to tell them when they face difficulties?
Was there a lesson or encouragement or challenge for you in this story? What was it?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2102-8
THE JOURNEY HOME
Copyright © 2008 by Linda Ford
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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